The eardrum-shattering, face-melting evening of psychedelic, Southern/alt rock by the Kentucky-born quintet was led by charismatic frontman and vocal powerhouse Jim James. Review, photos.
Frontman: My Morning Jacket’s Jim James led the dynamic, jam-filled charge on Monday night. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO GALLERY, SET LIST
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Grand Rapids finally got to join in “One Big Holiday” when My Morning Jacket hit the city Monday evening for a much-anticipated, sold-out headlining tour stop at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
While no strangers to West Michigan — they had a headlining turn at Electric Forest in 2017 and opened for Pearl Jam at Van Andel Arena in 2006 — GR fans were eager to welcome MMJ for a star turn in the city just ahead of this week’s Fourth of July celebration.
That patience and enthusiasm was rewarded with a roughly 140-minute showcase that rattled the bones and had much of the crowd on its feet for the duration.
Exuberant Crowd: Most were on their feet all night. (Photo/John Sinkevics)
Long renowned and well regarded for its live performances, My Morning Jacket lived up to the hype (and beyond) with a blistering 20-song set that spanned the band’s 26-year career, with good representation of its extensive studio catalog.
After gently easing in the audience with “War Begun” (from their 1999 debut “The Tennessee Fire”), “I Will Sing You Songs” (off 2003’s “It Still Moves”) and “Love Love Love” (from their 2021 self-titled album), it was time for the jamming/shredding to begin in earnest, often giving a nod to their Southern rock roots with dual guitar leads enhanced by groovy crescendos.
The momentum continued nearly straight on through to a fantastic version of set closer “Circuital” (the title track from the 2011 album). After a brief retreat, the crew returned to stage for a five-song encore, with the powerful, penultimate “Spring (Among the Living)” (from 2015’s “The Waterfall”) followed by the coda of the aforementioned “One Big Holiday” (off 2003’s “It Still Moves”), which whipped the still-going crowd into a satisfying frenzy of jumping, singing and dancing.
Lead vocalist/guitarist Jim James — plus Tom Blankenship (bass), Carl Broemel (guitar, pedal steel), Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion) and Bo Koster (keys, percussion) — kept stage banter light and to a minimum, sticking to the well-worn rock tropes of shouting out the venue city and the audience’s collective beauty and general vibes.
One exception was James’ brief, tongue-in-cheek quip about “Meijer Art Park’s” larger-than-life “The American Horse” by sculptor Nina Akamu: “Didn’t Leonardo DiCaprio invent that horse? … We’re stoked to see that horse! It’s beautiful.”
Effervescent New York-based singer/bassist Karina Rykman opened the evening with a 30-minute set that married pop, jam band and rock sensibilities into one energetic package.
Up Next at Meijer Gardens: Amos Lee performs at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets are $68 to $70, available online here.
PHOTO GALLERY: My Morning Jacket, Karina Rykman at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Chelsea Whitaker and John Sinkevics
SET LIST: My Morning Jacket at Meijer Gardens
Setlist.fm
Copyright 2024, Spins on Music LLC
